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AP Psychology
semester exam study questions
Question | Answer |
---|---|
To help stimulate their memory, to whom would the ancient Greeks have prayed? | Mnemosyne |
Which personality type is most associated with blood (humor)? | sanguine (healthy) |
Which personality type is most associated with yellow bile (humor)? | choleric (bilious and negative) |
Which personality type is most associated with black bile (humor)? | melancholy (sadness) |
Which personality type is most associated with phlegm (humor)? | phlegmatic (lazy and unmotivated) |
Who suggested that animal spirits flow through the nerves and produce body movements | Descartes |
Francis Bacon is mostly associated with: | empiricism |
Who coined the term "tabula rasa" (blank slate) to help explain the impact that experience has on shaping the individual | John Locke |
Argued against dividing human thought and behavior into particular structures; instead believed that the whole experience is much greater than just the sum of the parts; Gestalt psychology | Max Wertheimer |
Set up the first psychological laboratory in an apartment near Leipzig, Germany. He was a structuralist and trained subjects in introspection. | Wilhelm Wundt |
First woman to earn a Ph.D. in psychology. Developed "motor theory." | Margaret Floy Washburn |
First American psychology educator; functionalist; wrote the first psychology textbook, "The Principles of Psychology." | John Watson |
Proposed that a person must examine the unconscious mind through activities like dream analysis, word association, and psychoanalysis if we want to understand human behavior; psychoanalyst | Sigmund Freud |
Student of William James and first female president of the APA; completed her studies at Harvard but denied her Ph.D. | Mary Whiton Calkins |
Conducted "Little Albert" experiment; strict behaviorist; declared that psychology must limit itself to observable phenomena, not unobservable concepts like the unconscious mind. | John Watson 7ujjm |
Psychology is the best defined as the scientific study of: | behavior and mental processes |
Humanistic psychologists focused attention on the importance of: | healthy growth potential |
Arguments as to whether psychological differences between men and women result from biological or social influences most clearly involve a debate over the issue of: | nature versus nurture |
Betsy works in a human resources department. She plans training sessions, recruits people to work for the company, and implements techniques to boost morale around the office. Of the following, Betsy is most likely a(n): | industrial-organizational psychologist |
Clark studies the interaction of people, machines, and physical environments. He is most likely a: | human factors psychologist |
Delta has spent her entire life studying the way that chimps solve problems. She is most likely a: | cognitive psychologist |
Eduardo frequently testifies in court about defendants' states of mind. He is most likely a: | forensic psychologist |
A scientist's willingness to admit that she is wrong is an example of: | humility |
Which of the following is NOT an ethical principle regarding research on humans? | researchers must be completely honest with the participants about the purpose of their study |
Which of the following is a potential problem with case studies? | they may e misleading because they don't fairly represent other cases |
Which descriptive statistic would a researcher use to describe how close a student's SAT score is to a school's average SAT score? | standard deviation |
Which method should a psychology researcher use if she is interested in testing whether a specific reward in a classroom situation causes students to behave better? | experiment |
When a distribution of scores is skewed, which of the following measures of central tendency is most affected? | mean |
Which of the following correlation coefficients represents the strongest relationship between two variables | -0.85 |
In general, this statement is true: "The longer that man is married, the more hair he loses." Which of the following statements is true | There is a positive correlation between length of marriage and hair loss |
Which of the following is used only in correlation studies: | scatterplot |
Which of the following is a measure of variation | range |
Descriptive statistics ____________, while inferential statistics _______________. | Summarize data; determine if data can be generalized to other populations |
In a normal distribution, what percentage of scores fall within +/- one standard deviation | 68% |
Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a normal curve | About 95% of all of the scores fall within one standard deviation on both sides of the mean |
You decide to test your belief that boys drink more soft drinks than girls by finding out whether boys consume more soft drinks per day in the cafeteria than girls do. Your belief is a(n) ________ and your research prediction is a(n) __________. | hypothesis; theory |
Which of the following best describes hindsight bias | events seem more predictable after they have occurred |
To study the effects of lightning on the mood, Dr. Cooper had students fill out questionnaires in brightly lit or dimly lit rooms. In this study, the independent variable consisted of: | the room lighting |
What is the mode of the following: 2, 2, 4, 4, 4, 14 | 4 |
What is the mean of the following distribution of scores: 2, 5, 8, 10, 11, 4, 6, 9, 1, 4 | 6 |
What is the median of the following distribution: 10, 7, 5, 11, 8, 6, 9 | 8 |
What is the range of the following distribution: 12,5, 13, 9, 8, 9, 14, 5, 4, 12 | 10 |
Martina believes that high doses of caffeine slow a person's reaction time. To test this belief, she had five friends each drink (3) 8 oz cups of coffee and then measures their reaction time on a learning task. What is wrong with her strategy? | there is no control condition |
Ms. Potts was interested in determining whether he students' test performance could be predicted from their proximity to the front of the classroom. So she matched her students' scores on a math test with their seating position. This is an example of: | correlational research |
If eating fat and the likelihood of contract cancer are positively correlated, which of the following is true? | none of the statements are necessarily true |
The football's team's punter wants to determine how consistent his punting distances have been during the past season. He should compute the: | standard deviation |
In a neural chain, which part of the neuron will transmit information to the next cell? | axon |
The nucleus of a neuron is located in the | cell body |
The primary function of dendrites is to | receive incoming information |
Before the age of three, the brain has a greater physical capacity for modification and change. This is called | plasticity |
What is the correct route a message takes within a neuron? | Dendrite, cell body, axon |
When a neuron is at its resting state, what is the status of the charges on each side of the cell membrane? | There is a negative charge on the inside of the cell membrane and a positive charge on the outside. |
Uncle Manny had Parkinson's disease, suffering from muscular rigidity and tremors. He had low levels of which neurotransmitter? | Dopamine |
If you were a neurologist and wanted to study a patient who presented with symptoms of bipolar disorder consisting of alternating episodes of mania and depression, which of the neurotransmitters might you first examine? | Serotonin Norepinephrine |
What neurotransmitter plays an important role in human bonding? | Oxytocin |
The neuron's cell membrane permits some substances to pass through but not others; this is because the membrane is | semipermeable |
Most ________lie between the axon of one neuron and the dendrites of another. | synapses |
The terms somatic nervous system and parasympathetic nervous system are best associated with the | peripheral nervous system |
Low levels of which neurotransmitter is most directly associated with depression? | Serotonin |
If a doctor told you that insufficient nutrients were being transported from your blood vessels to your neurons, you might suspect that the problem was in your | glial cells |
A neurologist says that your aunt has a condition affecting her central nervous system. Your uncle is not sure what that means and you tell him that the problem could be anywhere in the | brain or spinal cord |
You are listening to a lecture. Then the bell rings in the hallway. When you hear these stimuli, it is ______ neurons that carry electrochemical messages from your ears to your brain. | afferent |
The lecture you were listening to is over. The bell that rang in the hall signaled the end of class. You get out of your seat and walk out the classroom door. Which kind of nerves sent the signals from your brain to initiate your physical movements? | Efferent |
Which division of the nervous system is composed of all the nerves that are not part of the brain and spinal cord? | The peripheral nervous system |
Essential body functions such as heartbeat, breathing, digestion, sweating, and sexual arousal are under the control of the | autonomic nervous system |
Which of the following are the two integrated parts of the autonomic nervous system? | Sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems |
If you are in a very stressful situation (bear chase) and you experience an increase in heart rate, a dilation of your eyes, and an increase in your breathing rate, you know that your ______ nervous system is primarily responsible for these operations. | sympathetic |
You're in a place by a person you like. Their hand touches yours. You move your hand in return. Your heart beats faster and you feel butterflies. The hand movement was your __ nervous system. The heart rate/butterflies were your ___ nervous system | somatic; autonomic |
Which division of the peripheral nervous system is responsible for physiological symptoms such as increased heart rate and butterflies in the stomach? | Sympathetic |
Your somatic nervous system, which includes motor nerves, is ____________ in nature, while your autonomic nervous system, which communicates with your internal organs, is | voluntary; involuntary |
Your brain has instructed your body muscles to move so that you avoid an oncoming bicyclist. Which division of the nervous system carried the information to your muscles? | Somatic nervous system |
An action potential is a brief wave of positive electrical charge that sweeps down the axon. The action potential causes a change in _____ potential as it moves along the axon. The movements of Na and K ____ in and out of the axon cause the changes. | electrical; ions |
You walk to class, and don't have to think about how to walk. When you get there you pay attention to the lecture but it's boring and you're tired. What plays an important role in keeping you focused by manipulation of various neurotransmitters? | reticular formation |
If a person's cerebellum was damaged in an accident, you would expect the person to have a problem with | balance and muscle coordination |
A person who walks in a jerky, uncoordinated way may well have a disorder involving the | cerebellum |
Which part of the nervous system regulates breathing? | medulla |
At the base of the brain is the __________which contains the medulla and the pons. | hindbrain |
One of the pleasure centers of the brain is found in the | hypothalamus |
Within the limbic system, the amygdala plays a key role in _____ and the hippocampus plays a key role in | aggression; memory |
Body temperature, hunger, thirst, emotional states, and coping with stress are functions controlled by the | hypothalamus. |
Conscious experience, thinking, and voluntary actions are mediated by the | cerebral cortex. |
If you had damage to your hippocampus, it would most likely impair | memory formation |
Broca's area is responsible for what? | Manipulation of the mouth and jaw for speech |
A drug that blocks the function of a neurotransmitter is called a(n) | antagonist |
A drug that mimics or increases a neurotransmitter's effect is called a(n) | agonist |
Which area of the brain is responsible for regulating circadian rhythms (our sleep cycle)? | Pineal gland |
The area critical for processing visual information is the | occipital lobe |
fMRI can detect brain activity because | oxygenated blood provides a stronger magnetic resonance than non oxygenated blood |
The somatosensory area plays an important role in behaviors involving | touch |
A researcher places closely spaced electrodes on her subjects' heads in order to study brain activity. She is using the | EEG technique |
Which of the following parts of the brain is the primary relay center? | Thalamus |
When you see the color and shape of a tomato in your vegetable garden, smell its fragrance, hear the buzzing of a bee, feel the texture of the tomato's skin, and taste the flavor, your process of receiving stimulus energy from the environment is called | sensation |
When you hear music or see a light, you receive physical energy from a stimulus in the world. Your process of converting physical energy from the world into electrochemical energy is called | transduction |
If a person hears two tones that differ in intensity just barely enough to be detected, the point of detection would be the | difference threshold |
An architect is designing apartments and wants them to be soundproof. She asks a psychologist what the smallest amount of sound is that can be heard. Her question is most related to | the absolute threshold |
If you are able to taste a quarter teaspoon of salt dissolved in a glass of water five times out of ten, you have attained your | absolute threshold |
What theory of perception proposes that detection of stimuli depends on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, physical intensity of the stimulus, fatigue of the observer, and expectancy? | Signal detection theory |
You can't feel the waistband of your underwear (though you know it is there). This is the result of | sensory adaptation |
The simultaneous distribution of sensory information across different neural pathways is called | parallel processing |
The purpose of parallel processing is to | allow sensory information to travel rapidly through the brain |
You're outside. The sky is blue. When the sun sets, the sky turns pink. After the sun has set, the sky goes pink, then lavender, purple, then dark blue, and finally black. The color changes you perceive are due to the ___ of light it reflects. | wavelength |
When you can tell the difference between candy apple red and fire engine red, it is partly because the light stimuli differ in their: | wavelengths |
Jane is having trouble sleeping. As she sits in bed looking around the darkened room, she notices that her peripheral vision seems to be better than her central vision. This is because vision in low light conditions | depends on the rods |
You are reading this question after light passes into your eyes. Those incoming light waves are then recorded by receptor cells located in your | retina |
The crossover point where the right visual field information goes to the left hemisphere is called the | optic chiasma |
As light enters the eye, eventually it reaches the light-sensitive ____ at the back of the second chamber of the eye. | retina |
Near the center of the retina there is a spot where there are no rods and no cones; this is because of the | optic nerve |
__________ is a process that involves coupling of the activity of various cells and pathways and helps integrate information about an object. | binding |
If a child asks you why we can see colors, and you want to answer according to the trichromatic theory of color vision, you might tell him it is because there are ______ different types of cones in the retina. | 3 |
Herman has color blindness. The colors that he cannot tell apart are always | complimentary colors |
_____________ cues are cues that depend on the combination of the images in the left and right eyes. | Binocular |
Your mother's and sister's voices have the same pitch and loudness, but you can tell them apart on the telephone. This is due to the perceptual quality or ________ of their voices. | timbre |
You are listening to music with a wide dynamic range. In the world of amplitude, what do the louder and softer sounds have to do with the air and your ears? | With louder sounds, air is pressing with more force on your ears; with softer sounds, air is pressing with less force on your ears. |
The bones of the middle ear are set into motion by vibrations of the | eardrum |
The unit of measure for the intensity of sound is | decibel |
The major function of the hammer, anvil, and stirrup of the middle ear is | to amplify vibrations and pass them on to the inner ear |
Every day, you see, hear, smell, taste, and feel stimuli from the outside world. Collecting data about that world is the function of _________, and interpreting the data collected is the function of ____________. | sensation; perception |
The type of processing that involves starting with a sense of what is happening and then applying that framework to information in the world is called | top-down |
The smallest intensity of a stimulus that you can detect 50 percent of the time is | the absolute threshold |
Regarding light, wavelength is the ______ and amplitude is the______ | color; brightness |
The major purpose of the iris is to | regulate the amount of light entering the eye |
The clear membrane just in front of the iris through which light first passes is the | cornea |
The _____ helps focus light onto the retina. | lens |
The main function of rods and cones is to | transduce light energy into electrochemical energy |
Bottom-up processing involves analysis that begins with the | sensory receptors |
Subliminally presented stimuli | can sometimes be consciously perceived |
Which theory of color vision most accurately describes the process of color vision at the level of the retina? It also explains color-blindness. | Trichromatic theory |
In depth perception, familiar size, height in field of view, and shading are examples of | monocular cues |
The different pitches of the beeps you hear on a touch-tone telephone are due to differences in the _____ of the beeps. | frequency |
When sound waves enter the ear canal, they first | When sound waves enter the ear canal, they first * |
Gustatory sensation primarily involves which of the following receptors? | Taste Buds |
Which receptor is responsible for feeling itch? | Pruriceptors |
Which receptor is responsible for feeling pain? | Nociceptors |
Which receptor is responsible for feeling pressure? | Baroceptors |
Which receptor is responsible for feeling warmth and cold? | Thermoceptors |
Which receptor is responsible for feeling vibration? | Mechanoceptors |
You are aware of the thoughts running through your mind and the emotions triggered by some of the thoughts. You are also aware of the sounds you hear and the things you see in the room and the things you smell. You would be considered to be in a state of | consciousness |
According to Freud, mental processes that occur without a person being aware of them are | unconscious |
Jordan has decided to go to sleep early. Although her eyes are closed and she is very relaxed, she has not yet fallen asleep. An EEG is most likely to indicate the presence of | alpha waves |
Which of the following best characterizes a night's sleep? | We cycle through the stages of sleep several times throughout the night, roughly every 90 minutes. |
When you go to check on your sleeping child, you observe that his eyes are moving back and forth rapidly under his eyelids. It is likely that he is | dreaming |
Circadian rhythm refers to | a pattern of sleep and wake patterns that occurs on a roughly 24-hour schedule |
Researchers have found that older adults tend to be sleepier during the day than younger adults. This suggests adolescents' biological clocks undergo a shift as they get older. A delay in the nightly release of ___ called ___seems to underlie this shift. | a sleep-inducing neurotransmitter; melatonin |
Dreams occur mostly during which stage of sleep? | REM |
A student nurse makes hourly records of her own blood pressure and body temperature over 30 days. When graphed, these readings changed in a predictable way on a daily basis. The reason for this regularity is that many physiological processes are | governed by circadian rhythms |
What are the bursts of rapid, rhythmic brain-wave activity that occur during NREM-2 sleep? | Sleep Spindles |
Your friend Helen works the night shift at the local grocery store every other day. She has trouble sleeping which is most likely due to | the disruption of her circadian rhythms |
William James described the human mind as a ________________, or a continuous flow of changing thoughts and feelings. | stream of consciousness |
The biological cycle of approximately 24 hours in length that regulates our pattern of sleep is called a(n) | circadian rhythm |
Thinking about thinking is called | metacognition |
Narcolepsy is a disorder involving | periodic attacks of uncontrollable sleepiness |
What part of the brain is typically most involved in awareness? | Cerebral cortex |
Sandra has been using an addictive drug that results in a very euphoric state. If she continues to use this drug she will | need to use higher doses to experience the same desired effect |
Which of the following disorders is characterized by the temporary cessation of breathing while asleep? | Sleep apnea |
Night terrors typically occur | during non-REM sleep |
Mr. Owens always sleeps restlessly, snoring and gasping during the night. It is most likely that Mr. Owens suffers from | sleep apnea |
Nightmares are to _______as night terrors are to_______ | REM sleep; Stage 4 sleep |
Sleep deprivation can lead to weight gain, reduced muscle strength, suppression of cells that fight colds, and most likely, which of the following? | depression |
What represents the most alert state of human consciousness? | Controlled processes |
During a heated argument with his teenage daughter, Mr. Reed suddenly lapsed into a stage of REM sleep. Mr. Reed apparently suffers from | narcolepsy |
The concept of "theory of mind" is best described as | individuals' understanding that they and others think, feel, perceive, and have private experiences |
Psychological research on sleep and memory has found that staying up all night to study for an exam is likely to | decrease memory performance |
What theory of dreaming proposes that dreaming involves information processing, memory, and problem solving? | Cognitive theory of dreaming |
Sleepwalking occurs during ______ phase of the sleep cycle | Stages 3 and 4 |
Jerry is in the process of getting a divorce and is having trouble at his job. Previously he had not had any sleep disorders but is bothered by one now. Which disorder would he most likely have developed? | Insomnia |
Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder characterized by | irresistible urges to fall asleep |
Grandpa is napping, snoring loudly, when suddenly he stops snoring. You look to see if he woke up, but he is still asleep and appears to not be breathing. For a moment you wonder if he's dead, but he snorts and resumes snoring. Grandpa is displaying | sleep apnea |
The sleep disorder narcolepsy occurs when individuals | fall unexpectedly into a deep sleep in the middle of daily activities |
What do drugs, trauma, fatigue, hypnosis, and sensory deprivation have in common? | They produce altered states of consciousness. |
According to activation-synthesis theory | dreams reflect the brain's efforts to make sense out of neural activity that occurs during sleep |
A criticism of activation-synthesis theory is that | life experiences stimulate and shape dreaming more than the theory acknowledges |
Kathy says that when she meditates, she feels like she becomes one with the universe. Kathy has experienced | an altered state of consciousness |
One of your friends displays higher than his usual levels of awareness, and another friend displays lower than her usual levels. These can be caused by drugs, trauma, fatigue, sensory deprivation, or possibly hypnosis. You would call these conditions | altered states of consciousness |
Those who wish to reach a more perfect state of consciousness often engage in | meditation |
A method of relaxation that involves focusing one's concentration on rhythmic breathing and not on thoughts or feelings is called | meditation |
Charles has been told he must reduce his sympathetic autonomic arousal. What consciousness-altering technique may help Charles? | Meditation |
In terms of states of consciousness, hypnosis involves a | a divided consciousness: a doer and a watcher. |
The divided-consciousness theory of hypnosis receives support from evidence that | hypnosis can block sensory input, including pain |
Your mother must always have an early morning first cup of coffee. She usually has several more cups throughout the day. If she misses one in the afternoon, she gets a headache. This behavior is connected with ________ use/abuse. | stimulant |
Your friend Sarah loves the warm feelings she feels toward everybody when she takes Ecstasy (MDMA). You want to warn her that repeated use of this drug could have lasting negative effects on which neurotransmitter? | Serotonin |
Your friend reported feeling greater energy and a sense of well-being after taking a drug. Medical tests reveal increased activity of her central nervous system. The drug she took is most likely some type of | stimulant |
A reinforcer that is innately satisfying and does not require any learning to be perceived of as pleasurable is a(n) __________ reinforcer. | primary |
You feel fine as you sit down in your usual seat in class. However, when Dr. Kraus announces there is a pop quiz on 100 of the hardest words in the last session, your heart starts pounding and you get a queasy feeling. This reaction is most likely a(n) | conditioned response |
Watson used _____ as a conditioned stimulus in order to condition fear in Little Albert. | a white rat |
Which of the following is NOT associated with Skinner? | Free will |
Mark's dog, Gus, sits whenever he says, "Sit." Mark now wants to teach Gus a new trick. He wants to teach him to bark each time he says, "Speak," but whenever Mark says, "Speak," Gus sits. The dog's behavior is an example of | generalization |
Dr. Meyer is known for his hard pop quizzes. Right before he gives a pop quiz to his students, he goes to the classroom door and closes it. Students soon learn to anticipate a pop quiz whenever he closes the classroom door. Closing the door has become a | conditioned stimulus |
Kelley is scolded each time she teases her little brother. Her mother notices that the frequency of teasing has decreased. Scolding Kelley is an effective | negative reinforcement |
Matt wants to train his dog, Buster, to sit. He gives him a treat each time he sits when commanded, but only the first 10 times. Now, Buster has to sit 3 times before he gets a treat. Matt used continuous reinforcement first, and then ___to train Buster. | a fixed ratio schedule of reinforcement |
Four month old Baby Nimo quickly learns that he will be picked up if he cries. From a behaviorist perspective, picking up Baby Nimo whenever he cries | is a positive reinforcer for Baby Nimo |
Larry is grounded each time he hits his little brother. After a few times of being grounded, Larry's misbehavior towards his little brother decreases. Grounding Larry is an example of | Negative punishment |
Anticipating a scary event whenever eerie music is played in a movie is a function of | associative learning |
In _____ situations, organisms learn the association between two stimuli. In _____situations, organisms learn the association between a behavior and a consequence. | classical conditioning; operant conditioning |
Pavlov's dog automatically salivated to food because food is an innate | unconditioned stimulus |
An example of an innate stimulus-response connection is | sneezing in response to sniffing pepper |
Pavlov's dog salivated each time food was presented. Salivation in this situation is the | unconditioned response |
Pavlov's dog salivated to the sound of a bell because | the bell had become associated with food |
In Pavlov's classic study on classical conditioning, the bell was the _____ before conditioning and the _____ after conditioning had occurred. | neutral stimulus; conditioned stimulus |
Marcia is in love with John but she discovers that John is a jerk, and she ends the relationship. One day, she suddenly gets a whiff of the cologne he wore. All the former good feelings come pouring back. The good feelings coming back is an example of | spontaneous recovery |
Pavlov's dog salivates each time he hears a bell. Now, however, after several trials of salivating to the bell and NOT receiving any food, the dog stops salivating. What happened? | Extinction has occurred. |
In the experiment with little Albert conducted by Watson and Raynor, the baby was conditioned to fear a white rat. In this study, the unconditioned stimulus was | a loud noise |
Who is known for conditioning a baby? | Watson |
In operant conditioning | the consequences of behavior produce change in the probability of the occurrence of the behavior |
When it comes to selecting a reinforcer for a child, use of ______________________as a reinforcer should work best. | praise |
Skinner's position on the existence of free will in humans means that | operant conditioning techniques instead of politics should be used to manage societies |
Melvin is a teacher. He wants to encourage his students to finish all their work and to do well on it. But, most of the kids don't complete their work even though they were smart enough. From a behavioral perspective, what should Melvin do? | Melvin should shape students by selectively reinforcing gradual approximations to the desired goal of completing 100% of the assignments. |
Bubba, a smart dog, has learned that if he barks at the neighbors while they're grilling, they will throw him a treat. When Paul is in the yard, Bubba never barks at the neighbors. According to operant conditioning, Bubba is demonstrating that he can | discriminate |
If, through experience, you come to the conclusion that all things are beyond your control and therefore you should not even try, you are exhibiting | learned helplessness |
A hitchhiker most likely gets rides on a _____ schedule of reinforcement. | variable ratio |
Kim is surprised and frustrated to find that her son's misbehavior actually increases when she yells at him. In operant terms, | yelling is serving to reinforce the misbehaviors instead of punishing them |
A worker is paid $25 for every 20 wind chimes that she builds. On which schedule of reinforcement is she being paid? | fixed ratio |